TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Running head: SYMBOLISM IN WESTWORLD
SYMBOLISM IN WESTWORLD
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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TALENT DEVELOPMET PROG EN
SYMBOLISM IN WESTWORLD
The paper intends to probe into the core of an American TV series delving into the
genre of science fiction, namely; Westworld. The essay is going to focus on the first three
episodes of the first season. The series, written by Jonathan Nolan along with Lisa Joy has
been produced by one of the biggest American television network, HBO. This is considered
to be an extended work on the film with the same title of 1873 (Goody and Mackay). This
involves a vast corpus of robotics, emotional turbulence, amalgamation of the very core
essence and the convention of human world with the exploration of the human psyche and a
world beyond one’s imagination. Westworld is a park designed only for the erudite class who
can afford to lead a lavishing life in the park without any confinement. The series does not
restrict itself into establishing the relationship between the robots and the human rather it is
scattered with multiple layers of symbols that makes the series one of the best till date.
Therefore, the paper seeks to find out how the symbolism of the series contributes in its
success.
The first series is named as The Maze consisting of ten episodes and each of them is
directed by different directors. The first one is called The Original which is directed by the
writer himself while the second one is directed by Richard J. Lewis and is known as
Chestnut. The third episode is The Stray, directed by Neil Marshall. The paper aims to look
deeply into these three episodes to understand the connotation of every symbol that has been
hinted and suggested throughout. Since the motive of the paper is to find out how the
symbolism is a factor of the success behind the series, the paper is going to critically analyze
the scenes of these three episodes of season one. It is evident that the first three episodes of
the first season cannot define the entire series but it has to be kept in mind that these three
episodes are the beginning and the source that assist the audiences to anticipate what they
might come across as the series progresses. Therefore, it can be believed that the symbolisms

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TALENT DEVELOPMET PROG EN
SYMBOLISM IN WESTWORLD
that are prevailing in the first three episodes are usually avoided by the audiences or mostly
they are unattended.
The significance of the symbols are not really understood by the audiences at first but
with the gradual progress of the plot the audiences become more aware of what had been
intended in these three episodes. The symbols are so subtle that it is difficult for the
audiences to understand or anticipate anything near to what will strike the series after some
point. Sometimes the symbols create certain curiosity in the minds of the audiences because
they are very direct but mostly the symbols that have been used in these episodes are
presented in hidden manner which are likely to be ignored by the audiences initially. The use
of symbolism makes the creators of the series to introduce the audiences with new twists at
the correct and relevant time that basically helps in building a more intriguing storyline. The
first three episodes are therefore the connectors that bridge the entire plot with the audiences.
The series is replete with Christian symbols here and there and the first three episodes are not
exempted as well.
Even the tiniest creature like a fly has been included to draw a symbolism which
shows the detailed research that carries the worth of the success of the show. The flies have a
great significance in this series and that is evident from the first scene of the first episode.
The first episode uses the symbol of the fly as a living being so unimportant yet not to be
considered as garbage as it has been used in the short story called, “The Fly” by Katherine
Mansfield. The fly has been shown to be a living creature which has all the rights to live. In
the short story of Mansfield the death of the fly is deployed to reveal the character of the boss
similarly here in Westworld the flies are not merely used to showcase the importance of life
but they are employed to showcase something really vital approaching the plot. Therefore it
can be said that the flies are occupying a huge space in Westworld especially in the first
episode. The hosts who are the manmade robots who are working in the amusement park to